Brazil now has second highest COVID death total

Brazil's health ministry says the country has recorded a total of 41,828 deaths during the coronavirus pandemic, meaning it has surpassed the United Kingdom and now has the second-highest total in the world, according to tallies by Johns Hopkins University.

Brazilian officials on Friday reported 909 deaths over the previous 24 hours. It is the hardest-hit nation in Latin America, with more than 828,000 confirmed virus cases.

The news came as states and cities across Brazil start to ease restrictive measures introduced more than two months ago in hopes of limiting the spread of the coronavirus.

Shops and malls are being allowed to open for four hours a day in Sao Paulo, the epicenter of Brazil's crisis. Stores have been crowded in smaller cities.